Pumpkin Cheese Coffee Cake

Pumpkin season is here and that means pumpkin spice has been popping up everywhere you look.  From cookies to candles and lattes to lasagnas, the phenomenon seems to never end.  However, I can’t say that I’m bothered by it at all – I’m a pretty big pumpkin fan 😉 I also happen to really love cheese coffee cake.  With a can of pumpkin starting at me and coffee cake dancing around in my head, I decided to combine my love for the two and that, my friends, is how this pumpkin cheese coffee cake was born.

Necessities:

1 box puff pastry

1 (8 ounce) brick cream cheese, softened

1 cup canned pumpkin (just pumpkin not pumpkin pie filling)

1/2 cup brown sugar (lightly packed)

1/2 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

3 eggs

Topping:

1/2 cup whipped cream cheese

1/2 cup powder sugar

4 Tablespoons whole milk

1/2 cup chopped salted pecans (optional)

Method:

To start off you will need to defrost the puff pastry sheets.  If you’ve never purchased puff pastry before, you can find it in the freezer section next to the pie shells.  Puff pastry is a very labor intensive dough to make from scratch so I always buy it to save myself time and sanity 😉 Just unwrap and place on a cookie sheet to defrost for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, preheat your oven to 400 degrees and begin to prepare the pumpkin filling.  In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the softened cream cheese with the brown and white sugar for about 2 minutes until it is light and fluffy.

Next, add in the pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice.  And mix until thoroughly combined.

Now add in the eggs, one at a time, making sure to incorporate each one before adding the next.  As you can see, my kids love to help me bake!

When the eggs are fully incorporated, the filling will be a pale orange color.

Now prepare your baking dishes. This recipe will make 2 coffee cakes. I made 2 different sizes to demonstrate that the shape and size is somewhat flexible. In the picture below I placed one of the puff pastry sheets in an 8 inch x 8 inch glass baking dish.  I also used a 7 inch x 11 inch glass baking dish (not pictured).  You want the puff pastry to come up about an inch on the sides to act like a crust.

Now pour in the velvety pumpkin filling, dividing evenly between the two dishes.

Place in the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.  The filling will set and the puff pastry will puff up around the edges and turn golden brown.  On the left is the 8 inch x 8 inch pan and on the right is the 7 inch x 11 inch pan. As you can see, either size works!

The Topping

Allow the cakes to cool for 30 minutes before removing from their pans. While cooling, make the sweet cream cheese topping. In a small bowl beat the cream cheese and powder sugar for 1 minute.  I like to use whipped cream cheese here because it is already light and airy. Next, add in the milk one Tablespoon at a time – you’re basically loosening up the frosting to make it easier to drizzle.  Then I put the frosting into a Ziploc bag that I have placed inside of a cup or drinking glass.

Now the fun part! Cut off a small corner of the Ziploc bag and begin to drizzle the frosting over the cooled cakes.  Just slowly move the bag back and forth and you will get a pretty frosting design.

The coffee cake is delicious just like this, really it is, I tasted it 😉  But I sort of have a thing the crunchy, salty and sweet trifecta.  So, if you’re like me, I highly recommend sprinkling the top with chopped, roasted and salted pecans.

Now just slice it up and indulge….oh and don’t forget to share 😀